Recent brachiopods from the Persian Gulf and their biogeographical significance

Alan Logan
Centre for Coastal Studies and Aquaculture, University of New Brunswick, Canada

Eberhard Gischler
Institut für Geowissenschaften, Germany

Abstract

Two brachiopod species Discradisca indica (Dall, 1920) and Argyrotheca jacksoni Cooper, 1973, together with Lingula sp., have been identified from the Persian Gulf. These species, added to the two species Terebratulina retusa (Linnaeus, 1758) and Megerlia truncata (Linnaeus, 1767) previously identified by Jackson (1921), and Lingula anatina Lamarck, 1819 by Emig (1988) bring the total to 5 species for the region. The genera Discradisca and Argyrotheca are recorded for the first time from the Persian Gulf. This fauna shows biogeographical affinities to the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean faunas. The disjunct geographical distribution of Discradisca suggests this genus is a relict of an ancient Tethyan fauna.